Louise C. Evans

Null Mutation of the Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate–Oxidase Subunit p67phox Protects the Dahl-S Rat From Salt-Induced Reductions in Medullary Blood Flow and Glomerular Filtration Rate

Null mutations in the p67phox subunit of NADPH-oxidase confer protection from salt-sensitivity on Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats. Here we track the sequential changes in medullary blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, urinary protein and mean arterial pressure in SSp67phox null rats and wild-type littermates during 21-days of 4.0% NaCl (high-salt [HS]) diet. Optical fibers were implanted in the renal medulla and medullary blood flow measured in conscious rats by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Separate groups of rats were prepared with femoral venous catheters and glomerular filtration rate measured by the transcutaneous assessment of fluorescein isothiocyanate-sinistrin disappearance curves. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured by telemetry. In wild-type rats HS caused a rapid reduction in medullary blood flow which was significantly lower than control values by HS day-6. Reduced medullary blood flow was associated with a progressive increase in mean arterial pressure, averaging 170 ± 5 mmHg by HS salt day-21. A significant reduction in glomerular filtration rate was evident at day-14 HS, after the onset of hypertension and reduced medullary blood flow. In contrast, HS had no significant effect on medullary blood flow in SSp67phox null rats and the pressor response to sodium was blunted, averaging 150 ± 3 mmHg at day-21 HS. Glomerular filtration rate was maintained throughout the study and proteinuria was reduced. In summary, when p67phox is not functional in the SS rat HS does not cause reduced medullary blood flow and salt-sensitive hypertension is attenuated, consequently renal injury is reduced and glomerular filtration rate is maintained.Null mutations in the p67phox subunit of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate–oxidase confer protection from salt sensitivity on Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Here, we track the sequential changes in medullary blood flow (MBF), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary protein, and mean arterial pressure in SSp67phox null rats and wild-type littermates during 21 days of 4.0% NaCl high-salt (HS) diet. Optical fibers were implanted in the renal medulla and MBF was measured in conscious rats by laser Doppler flowmetry. Separate groups of rats were prepared with femoral venous catheters and GFR was measured by the transcutaneous assessment of fluorescein isothiocyanate-sinistrin disappearance curves. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured by telemetry. In wild-type rats, HS caused a rapid reduction in MBF, which was significantly lower than control values by HS day-6. Reduced MBF was associated with a progressive increase in mean arterial pressure, averaging 170±5 mm Hg by HS salt day-21. A significant reduction in GFR was evident on day-14 HS, after the onset of hypertension and reduced MBF. In contrast, HS had no significant effect on MBF in SSp67phox null rats and the pressor response to sodium was blunted, averaging 150±3 mm Hg on day-21 HS. GFR was maintained throughout the study and proteinuria was reduced. In summary, when p67phox is not functional in the salt-sensitive rats, HS does not cause reduced MBF and salt-sensitive hypertension is attenuated, and consequently renal injury is reduced and GFR is maintained.

Characterization of biological pathways associated with a 1.37 Mbp genomic region protective of hypertension in Dahl S rats

The goal of the present study was to narrow a region of chromosome 13 to only several genes and then apply unbiased statistical approaches to identify molecular networks and biological pathways relevant to blood-pressure salt sensitivity in Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats. The analysis of 13 overlapping subcongenic strains identified a 1.37 Mbp region on chromosome 13 that influenced the mean arterial blood pressure by at least 25 mmHg in SS rats fed a high-salt diet. DNA sequencing and analysis filled genomic gaps and provided identification of five genes in this region, Rfwd2, Fam5b, Astn1, Pappa2, and Tnr. A cross-platform normalization of transcriptome data sets obtained from our previously published Affymetrix GeneChip dataset and newly acquired RNA-seq data from renal outer medullary tissue provided 90 observations for each gene. Two Bayesian methods were used to analyze the data: 1) a linear model analysis to assess 243 biological pathways for their likelihood to discriminate blood pressure levels across experimental groups and 2) a Bayesian graphical modeling of pathways to discover genes with potential relationships to the candidate genes in this region. As none of these five genes are known to be involved in hypertension, this unbiased approach has provided useful clues to be experimentally explored. Of these five genes, Rfwd2, the gene most strongly expressed in the renal outer medulla, was notably associated with pathways that can affect blood pressure via renal transcellular Na(+) and K(+) electrochemical gradients and tubular Na(+) transport, mitochondrial TCA cycle and cell energetics, and circadian rhythms.

Increased Perfusion Pressure Drives Renal T-Cell Infiltration in the Dahl Salt-Sensitive RatNovelty and Significance

Renal T-cell infiltration is a key component of salt-sensitive hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats. Here, we use an electronic servo-control technique to determine the contribution of renal perfusion pressure to T-cell infiltration in the SS rat kidney. An aortic balloon occluder placed around the aorta between the renal arteries was used to maintain perfusion pressure to the left kidney at control levels, ≈128 mm Hg, during 7 days of salt-induced hypertension, whereas the right kidney was exposed to increased renal perfusion pressure that averaged 157±4 mm Hg by day 7 of high-salt diet. The number of infiltrating T cells was compared between the 2 kidneys. Renal T-cell infiltration was significantly blunted in the left servo-controlled kidney compared with the right uncontrolled kidney. The number of CD3+, CD3+CD4+, and CD3+CD8+ T cells were all significantly lower in the left servo-controlled kidney. This effect was not specific to T cells because CD45R+ (B cells) and CD11b/c+ (monocytes and macrophages) cell infiltrations were all exacerbated in the hypertensive kidneys. Increased renal perfusion pressure was also associated with augmented renal injury, with increased protein casts and glomerular damage in the hypertensive kidney. Levels of norepinephrine were comparable between the 2 kidneys, suggestive of equivalent sympathetic innervation. Renal infiltration of T cells was not reversed by the return of renal perfusion pressure to control levels after 7 days of salt-sensitive hypertension. We conclude that increased pressure contributes to the initiation of renal T-cell infiltration during the progression of salt-sensitive hypertension in SS rats.

Use of Enzymatic Biosensors to Quantify Endogenous ATP or H2O2 in the Kidney.

Enzymatic microelectrode biosensors have been widely used to measure extracellular signaling in real-time. Most of their use has been limited to brain slices and neuronal cell cultures. Recently, this technology has been applied to the whole organs. Advances in sensor design have made possible the measuring of cell signaling in blood-perfused in vivo kidneys. The present protocols list the steps needed to measure ATP and H2O2 signaling in the rat kidney interstitium. Two separate sensor designs are used for the ex vivo and in vivo protocols. Both types of sensor are coated with a thin enzymatic biolayer on top of a permselectivity layer to give fast responding, sensitive and selective biosensors. The permselectivity layer protects the signal from the interferents in biological tissue, and the enzymatic layer utilizes the sequential catalytic reaction of glycerol kinase and glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase in the presence of ATP to produce H2O2. The set of sensors used for the ex vivo studies further detected analyte by oxidation of H2O2 on a platinum/iridium (Pt-Ir) wire electrode. The sensors for the in vivo studies are instead based on the reduction of H2O2 on a mediator coated gold electrode designed for blood-perfused tissue. Final concentration changes are detected by real-time amperometry followed by calibration to known concentrations of analyte. Additionally, the specificity of the amperometric signal can be confirmed by the addition of enzymes such as catalase and apyrase that break down H2O2 and ATP correspondingly. These sensors also rely heavily on accurate calibrations before and after each experiment. The following two protocols establish the study of real-time detection of ATP and H2O2 in kidney tissues, and can be further modified to extend the described method for use in other biological preparations or whole organs.

Acute In Vivo Analysis of ATP Release in Rat Kidneys in Response to Changes of Renal Perfusion Pressure

Background ATP and derivatives are recognized to be essential agents of paracrine signaling. It was reported that ATP is an important regulator of the pressure‐natriuresis mechanism. Information on the sources of ATP, the mechanisms of its release, and its relationship to blood pressure has been limited by the inability to precisely measure dynamic changes in intrarenal ATP levels in vivo. Methods and Results Newly developed amperometric biosensors were used to assess alterations in cortical ATP concentrations in response to changes in renal perfusion pressure (RPP) in anesthetized Sprague–Dawley rats. RPP was monitored via the carotid artery; ligations around the celiac/superior mesenteric arteries and the distal aorta were used for manipulation of RPP. Biosensors were acutely implanted in the renal cortex for assessment of ATP. Rise of RPP activated diuresis/natriuresis processes, which were associated with elevated ATP. The increases in cortical ATP concentrations were in the physiological range (1–3 μmol/L) and would be capable of activating most of the purinergic receptors. There was a linear correlation with every 1‐mm Hg rise in RPP resulting in a 70‐nmol/L increase in ATP. Furthermore, this elevation of RPP was accompanied by a 2.5‐fold increase in urinary H2O2. Conclusions Changes in RPP directly correlate with renal sodium excretion and the elevation of cortical ATP. Given the known effects of ATP on regulation of glomerular filtration and tubular transport, the data support a role for ATP release in the rapid natriuretic responses to acute increases in RPP.

Transcriptomic analysis reveals inflammatory and metabolic pathways which are regulated by renal perfusion pressure in the outer medulla of Dahl-S rats.

Studies exploring the development of hypertension have traditionally been unable to distinguish which of the observed changes are underlying causes from those that are a consequence of elevated blood pressure. In this study, a custom-designed servo-control system was utilized to precisely control renal perfusion pressure to the left kidney continuously during the development of hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive rats. In this way, we maintained the left kidney at control blood pressure while the right kidney was exposed to hypertensive pressures. As each kidney was exposed to the same circulating factors, differences between them represent changes induced by pressure alone. RNA sequencing analysis identified 1,613 differently expressed genes affected by renal perfusion pressure. Three pathway analysis methods were applied, one a novel approach incorporating arterial pressure as an input variable allowing a more direct connection between the expression of genes and pressure. The statistical analysis proposed several novel pathways by which pressure affects renal physiology. We confirmed the effects of pressure on p-Jnk regulation, in which the hypertensive medullas show increased p-Jnk/Jnk ratios relative to the left (0.79 ± 0.11 vs. 0.53 ± 0.10, P < 0.01, n = 8). We also confirmed pathway predictions of mitochondrial function, in which the respiratory control ratio of hypertensive vs. control mitochondria are significantly reduced (7.9 ± 1.2 vs. 10.4 ± 1.8, P < 0.01, n = 6) and metabolomic profile, in which 14 metabolites differed significantly between hypertensive and control medullas ( P < 0.05, n = 5). These findings demonstrate that subtle differences in the transcriptome can be used to predict functional changes of the kidney as a consequence of pressure elevation.

Null Mutation of the Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate–Oxidase Subunit p67phox Protects the Dahl-S Rat From Salt-Induced Reductions in Medullary Blood Flow and Glomerular Filtration RateNovelty and Significance

Null mutations in the p67phox subunit of NADPH-oxidase confer protection from salt-sensitivity on Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats. Here we track the sequential changes in medullary blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, urinary protein and mean arterial pressure in SSp67phox null rats and wild-type littermates during 21-days of 4.0% NaCl (high-salt [HS]) diet. Optical fibers were implanted in the renal medulla and medullary blood flow measured in conscious rats by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Separate groups of rats were prepared with femoral venous catheters and glomerular filtration rate measured by the transcutaneous assessment of fluorescein isothiocyanate-sinistrin disappearance curves. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured by telemetry. In wild-type rats HS caused a rapid reduction in medullary blood flow which was significantly lower than control values by HS day-6. Reduced medullary blood flow was associated with a progressive increase in mean arterial pressure, averaging 170 ± 5 mmHg by HS salt day-21. A significant reduction in glomerular filtration rate was evident at day-14 HS, after the onset of hypertension and reduced medullary blood flow. In contrast, HS had no significant effect on medullary blood flow in SSp67phox null rats and the pressor response to sodium was blunted, averaging 150 ± 3 mmHg at day-21 HS. Glomerular filtration rate was maintained throughout the study and proteinuria was reduced. In summary, when p67phox is not functional in the SS rat HS does not cause reduced medullary blood flow and salt-sensitive hypertension is attenuated, consequently renal injury is reduced and glomerular filtration rate is maintained.Null mutations in the p67phox subunit of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate–oxidase confer protection from salt sensitivity on Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Here, we track the sequential changes in medullary blood flow (MBF), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary protein, and mean arterial pressure in SSp67phox null rats and wild-type littermates during 21 days of 4.0% NaCl high-salt (HS) diet. Optical fibers were implanted in the renal medulla and MBF was measured in conscious rats by laser Doppler flowmetry. Separate groups of rats were prepared with femoral venous catheters and GFR was measured by the transcutaneous assessment of fluorescein isothiocyanate-sinistrin disappearance curves. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured by telemetry. In wild-type rats, HS caused a rapid reduction in MBF, which was significantly lower than control values by HS day-6. Reduced MBF was associated with a progressive increase in mean arterial pressure, averaging 170±5 mm Hg by HS salt day-21. A significant reduction in GFR was evident on day-14 HS, after the onset of hypertension and reduced MBF. In contrast, HS had no significant effect on MBF in SSp67phox null rats and the pressor response to sodium was blunted, averaging 150±3 mm Hg on day-21 HS. GFR was maintained throughout the study and proteinuria was reduced. In summary, when p67phox is not functional in the salt-sensitive rats, HS does not cause reduced MBF and salt-sensitive hypertension is attenuated, and consequently renal injury is reduced and GFR is maintained.

NULL MUTATION OF THE NADPH OXIDASE SUBUNIT p67PHOXPROTECTS THE DAHL-S RAT FROMSALT-INDUCED REDUCTIONS IN MEDULLARY BLOOD FLOW AND GFR

Null mutations in the p67phox subunit of NADPH-oxidase confer protection from salt-sensitivity on Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats. Here we track the sequential changes in medullary blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, urinary protein and mean arterial pressure in SSp67phox null rats and wild-type littermates during 21-days of 4.0% NaCl (high-salt [HS]) diet. Optical fibers were implanted in the renal medulla and medullary blood flow measured in conscious rats by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Separate groups of rats were prepared with femoral venous catheters and glomerular filtration rate measured by the transcutaneous assessment of fluorescein isothiocyanate-sinistrin disappearance curves. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured by telemetry. In wild-type rats HS caused a rapid reduction in medullary blood flow which was significantly lower than control values by HS day-6. Reduced medullary blood flow was associated with a progressive increase in mean arterial pressure, averaging 170 ± 5 mmHg by HS salt day-21. A significant reduction in glomerular filtration rate was evident at day-14 HS, after the onset of hypertension and reduced medullary blood flow. In contrast, HS had no significant effect on medullary blood flow in SSp67phox null rats and the pressor response to sodium was blunted, averaging 150 ± 3 mmHg at day-21 HS. Glomerular filtration rate was maintained throughout the study and proteinuria was reduced. In summary, when p67phox is not functional in the SS rat HS does not cause reduced medullary blood flow and salt-sensitive hypertension is attenuated, consequently renal injury is reduced and glomerular filtration rate is maintained.Null mutations in the p67phox subunit of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate–oxidase confer protection from salt sensitivity on Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Here, we track the sequential changes in medullary blood flow (MBF), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary protein, and mean arterial pressure in SSp67phox null rats and wild-type littermates during 21 days of 4.0% NaCl high-salt (HS) diet. Optical fibers were implanted in the renal medulla and MBF was measured in conscious rats by laser Doppler flowmetry. Separate groups of rats were prepared with femoral venous catheters and GFR was measured by the transcutaneous assessment of fluorescein isothiocyanate-sinistrin disappearance curves. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured by telemetry. In wild-type rats, HS caused a rapid reduction in MBF, which was significantly lower than control values by HS day-6. Reduced MBF was associated with a progressive increase in mean arterial pressure, averaging 170±5 mm Hg by HS salt day-21. A significant reduction in GFR was evident on day-14 HS, after the onset of hypertension and reduced MBF. In contrast, HS had no significant effect on MBF in SSp67phox null rats and the pressor response to sodium was blunted, averaging 150±3 mm Hg on day-21 HS. GFR was maintained throughout the study and proteinuria was reduced. In summary, when p67phox is not functional in the salt-sensitive rats, HS does not cause reduced MBF and salt-sensitive hypertension is attenuated, and consequently renal injury is reduced and GFR is maintained.